Translated material
The cost of war in Ukraine. Online July 18
The Bell continues to host an online video dedicated to the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.
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21:25 After nationalization, Russian Danone was headed by the Minister of Agriculture of Chechnya
The head of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Chechen Republic, Yakub Zakriev, became the new CEO of Danone Russia LLC after the transfer of the company to the temporary management of the Federal Property Management Agency, follows from SPARK data, which studied . The Bell
21:03 New management appointed in Baltika after its de facto nationalization
The brewing company has been headed by Taimuraz Bolloev since July 17, sources told Izvestia. At the same time, the powers of Denis Sherstennikov, who had been the president of Baltika since January 2021, were terminated. The information was confirmed by the press service of the company.
The newspaper recalls that Bolloev had already been in charge of Baltika for almost 13 years - from 1991, when the first plant of the same name was opened, to 2004. In 1992, the plant was privatized, and the company received the largest investor and shareholder - the Scandinavian Beverages Holding AB (BBH). Bolloev became CEO, and then took over as president. For 8 years under his leadership, the company increased the volume of beer production by 18 times and annually produced almost 500 million liters of drinks.
In the early 2000s, the process of joining Baltika to the international Carlsberg group began, when the Danish Carlsberg Breweries AS (50%) and the British Scottish & Newcastle (50%) divided the BBH assets. After leaving Baltika, in 2005, Bolloev headed the board of directors of the St. Petersburg BTK Group, one of the largest Russian companies in the development and production of work and special clothing.
From 2009 to 2011, Bolloev headed Olimpstroy, a structure created to prepare for the 2014 Winter Olympics. There he came to the position of vice president. Bolloev's competence included the construction of facilities for sports competitions in Sochi and interaction with investors.
19:39 Ukraine will receive another $250 million to support agriculture and $1.3 billion in military assistance from the United States
Money for the agricultural sector will be allocated as part of the AGRI-Ukraine initiative, launched in July last year in the amount of $100 million. The funds will be used to develop infrastructure and help Ukrainian farmers in the production, storage and export of their products, announced the head of USAID (USAID ) . development) Samantha Power. She recalled that the grain deal "is of great importance for the promotion of Ukrainian food products to world markets" and condemned Russia's decision to suspend its participation.
Reuters, citing unnamed American officials , writes that the United States will also soon announce a new large $1.3 billion military aid package to Ukraine. According to the agency, it will include Vampire air defense systems, two types of kamikaze drones - Phoenix Ghost and Switchblade and UAV countermeasure systems from the Australian Drone Shield.
17:53 Finnish pharmaceutical manufacturer Orion Pharma stopped working in Russia
The company's departure from the Russian market is stated in its financial report for the first half of 2023. The document cites this as one of the reasons why Orion Pharma's operating profit fell 33.5% yoy to €102m (the company lost €25m year-over-year).
It does not follow from the text that the company stopped the supply of medicines to Russia, the Pharmaceutical Bulletin draws attention. However, the data of Roszdravnadzor indicate a sharp reduction in the introduction of various drugs of this company into circulation - 48 series in 2022 against 78 series in 2021 and 87 series in 2020. Since May last year, the export of Divigel (estradiol), used for hormone replacement therapy, has also been suspended.
When exactly Orion Pharma stopped working in Russia, it is not specified. in October that the company was shutting down its activities wrote Vedomosti . It was planned to close the Russian office by the end of 2022, according to the publication. The company then denied the information about the departure.
Orion Pharma's flagship drug is Metipred, which is listed on the Essential Medicines Registry for the treatment of severe allergies, asthma, dermatitis and rheumatoid arthritis. How exactly the company's departure will affect supplies is still unknown. The day before, Kommersant reported that the rights to another drug of the company, Regidron, for the treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract in Russia, were bought by Valenta Pharm, which plans to localize the release of the drug.
15:37 Saudi Arabia and Turkey are trying to help repatriate thousands of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war, found out . the Financial Times
Four sources familiar with the course told about secret negotiations mediated by Ankara and Riyadh. Two interlocutors also reported the participation of Roman Abramovich in the discussions, who, according to Western media, has already played the role of mediator on several issues ( 1 , 2 ).
Negotiations have been going on for several months. While officials in Moscow and Kyiv are busily compiling lists of Ukrainian children, mediators are still looking for ways to reach a compromise between Russia and Ukraine in the hope of developing new channels of communication to renew dialogue about peace.
The issue is so sensitive that Ukrainian and Russian officials have refused to speak directly to each other, unlike in previous cases where a prisoner exchange or a ceasefire was discussed, the newspaper notes. Neither side kept a count of the children taken out; besides, there are different circumstances under which the children ended up in Russia, sources say.
“We don’t have [direct] communication with the Russian side,” the FT quotes a comment by Daria Gerasimchuk, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation. “Moreover, we are convinced that there can be no negotiations in this direction, because we are not talking about the exchange of prisoners of war. These are civilians, these are children.”
According to one diplomat briefed on the talks, the Saudis raised the issue of repatriating Ukrainian children with several G20 representatives at a meeting in Copenhagen in late June. Western countries welcomed Riyadh's mediation efforts on this and other issues, including the grain deal, the situation at the ZNPP and the risks of nuclear escalation, the source added.
The removal of children from the occupied regions of Ukraine was the reason for the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for Vladimir Putin, as well as for the Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
14:08 Peskov confirmed that the night attack on the port infrastructure of Odessa and Nikolaev was a response to the explosion of the Crimean bridge.
13:25 The Prosecutor General's Office recognized the organization for the protection of salmon Wild Salmon Center as "undesirable" in Russia
“The organization's stated goal is to 'conserve Pacific salmon'. In fact, the activities of the WSC in the Russian Federation are used as a cover for the implementation of projects aimed at shackling the economic development of Russia, ” claims . the agency
WSC is funded by private commercial and non-profit structures, including Google, as well as a number of US government agencies, the report says.
Previously, Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund WWF were recognized as "undesirable" organizations (the latter is also included in the register of "foreign agents").
12:14 The Russian Ministry of Defense explained the night strike on the ports of Ukraine - in Odessa, facilities where “terrorist acts against the Russian Federation were being prepared using unmanned boats” were hit, as well as a shipyard that assembled them. “In addition, in the area of the cities of Nikolaev and Odessa, fuel storage facilities with a total volume of about 70 thousand tons were destroyed, from which military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was supplied with fuel,” the ministry writes.
9:05 As early as August, Japan may ban the supply of cars with engines of more than 1.9 liters to Russia, including used ones, writes the Yomiuri newspaper . In the future, a ban on the export of hybrids and electric vehicles is not ruled out. According to Japanese data, 200,000 used Japanese cars were exported to Russia last year.
The main thing for the night and morning:
- On the night after Russia withdrew from the grain deal, the Russian Armed Forces attacked the port infrastructure of Odessa and Nikolaev with Geran-type drones and Kalibr cruise missiles, there is destruction. About why the deal was broken right now, and why it is likely to be renewed, The Bell wrote in the evening mailing .
- Crimean Governor Sergei Aksyonov announced a massive drone attack tonight - and not in the west, but in the east of the peninsula. According to him, nine devices were shot down, 19 were suppressed by electronic warfare, there were no casualties. The Ministry of Defense also writes about 28 drones that did not reach the target, but in a different ratio: 17 were shot down, 11 were suppressed.
- Large producers of drinks and juices PepsiCo and Gardens Pridonya notified retailers of the network about a 10-20% price increase from August 1. Ochakovo also plans to raise prices. The reason is the excise tax on sugar-containing drinks (7 rubles per liter) introduced in July, combined with increased prices for raw materials and logistics.
- Exports of diesel fuel from Russia grew by 11% yoy in the first half of the year. Europe with its embargo was replaced by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, and Africa already accounts for more than 20% of exports. Despite the price ceiling for petroleum products and the discount, diesel brings in at least $10 per barrel more for Russian exporters than oil.
- ARK Invest founder Cathy Wood said her fund has written off 47% of the estimated capitalization of its remaining Twitter shares since Elon Musk took the company private.
- Ford has cut the price of its flagship electric vehicle, the F-150 Lightning, by $10,000. Now prices start at $50,000. The American market is showing signs of saturation, and competition is intensifying.